The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeastern coast of Japan may well become the costliest natural disaster in history. But it’s not the black swan capable of bringing ­a country, and the rest of the world, to its knees.

The West vs Gaddafi

Europe’s approach to military crises has been characterized by dithering, wavering, and tortuous consensus-seeking. Now with the US taking a back seat in the Libyan crisis, this pattern has already set the scene for what is likely to be a long, complicated adventure.

As autocratic regimes fall and the foundations of the nation-state in those ancient lands become more tenuous, we might do well to reconsider the thriving social structures that date back before civilization.

Now that a no-fly zone has been implemented, the newly formed coalition’s political and strategic objectives will need to adapt to the changing situation. But first everyone has to agree about what those objectives are.

­­How governments and international institutions handle the crisis in the greater Middle East will be a litmus test not only for future international cooperation, but most of all for the future of democratic institutions.

The first step in any attempt to oust a tyrant is usually to freeze his foreign assets and impose sanctions on his regime. Shortly after the turmoil in Libya erupted, the international community’s legal teams went into action.

Oil

As the turmoil spreads to Libya and possibly other oil and gas producing nations, prices will spike. But so far, what has been making the markets nervous more than anything else is having to come to terms with uncertainty.

Islamic fundamentalist movements have been keeping a conspicuously low profile throughout the turbulence on their home turf. Are they regrouping, or have the masses definitively rejected their nihilistic ideology?

Immigration

The North African crisis has magnified the migratory waves towards southern Europe. But the opportunities and prosperity the migrants seek are no longer there. What they’ll find, in fact, is growing structural unemployment.

The multicultural approach to absorbing foreign immigration has come under fire recently. As a result, there has been a reassessment of France’s traditional assimilationist model, which has also been frequently criticized.

The debates in Europe about what to do with immigrants inevitably draw comparison with the United States. But the American approach to teeming masses huddling on its shores has been anything but systematic.

Even though the number of Muslims, as a percentage of the world’s population, continues to rise. A closer look at demographic trends, such as a lower birth rate, helps explain the recent upheavals in the Arab world and points to increased secularization.

Europe

With a real estate market in shambles, savings banks dropping like flies, and a fifth of the country out of work, Spain has been hit hard. While Zapatero’s policies may have only exacerbated the crisis, there is little doubt he will have to take the blame.

Warming bloopers

With Japan reeling from a major nuclear accident and one of the world’s largest producers of oil and gas getting bombed, turning to renewable energy would seem to be a no-brainer. But is it economically feasible yet?

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Widescreen

Members of nomadic tribes in Inner Mongolia are rapidly shifting from traditional herding life to the realities of a modern China. Lured by the promise of material comfort and education for their children, in some cases whole families migrate together, facing long journeys and language difficulties which put a heavy emotional strain on the child and the family. Photographer A Yin who lives in Ujimiqin, a vast area in a Chinese controlled region near the border with the independent country of Mongolia, has documented the lifestyle of nomadic tribes for the last 20 years. In this series of images taken only a few years apart, first in their native lands and then in their new urban reality, A Yin depicts a poignant chronicle of the vanishing nomadic culture of Inner Mongolia.

Talking heads

Natural and nuclear catastrophes, unprecedented uprisings and political changes in critical areas of the world, states risking bankruptcy. Rarely as often as in the last months have world leaders been facing situations which could potentially turn the current global system upside-down. Such situations are testing their resoluteness and their ability to take crucial and vital decisions. While making rational choices, leaders cannot disregard citizens’ concerns, be it the fear of new catastrophes, of massive migrations or the reluctance to pay the price for other countries’ shortcomings. Without being overwhelmed or manipulated by emotions, decision-makers must channel them into productive and adaptive actions. Quoting General George Patton, “There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.”

World money

While improving the means for measuring a phenomenon is often useful, it won’t help fix the thing it is measuring. In fact, it might prove a convenient distraction to make up for what would otherwise be considered inaction.

Smart thinking

For many years risk capital from outside investors was shunned among Italy’s small and medium-sized enterprises. But recently the driving force of Italy’s economy has begun to welcome private equity firms.

Potomac watch

Running his beloved Chicago was a dream job for Rahm Emanuel. So when the opportunity arose unexpectedly, the feisty Capitol Hill insider left his post as White House Chief of Staff to campaign for mayor of his hometown.